Here’s the thing about sports games: they are an illness. You can spend days and weeks turning your team into a dynasty only to dump them and start from scratch with a whole new team. You spend hours stocking your farm system with players who will likely never see a major league pitch. You waste time downloading roster updates, playbooks and new team logos because you’re obsessed with accuracy. You spend more time in this fantasy world than you do following real life sports. You are sick. So am I.

My fans (gauged by the game’s fan loyalty index) are happier with the team now that we’ve shown a propensity not to suck (frequent Stafford picks notwithstanding). We all know what that means. Higher ticket prices.

Mike Stafford is not progressing as well as I’d hoped. He’s got two seasons under his belt, solid receivers, and a line that’s giving him a little time in the pocket. My scouts say his abilities have shown only marginal improvement. This is bad because I don’t have a high enough draft pick to shop for a new QB. It’s also bad because, as he reminds me in practice, his name is Matt, not Mike.

After the season, I scouted the free agent market. The Falcons let Matt Ryan go. Wow. All he did was throw for 3000+ and 20+ TDs. I can see why they didn’t renew his contract. How dare he not throw for 4000+ and 30+ TDs. In Baseball Mogul, there is a global modifier to set for player movement. You can set it so that teams are less likely to trade or release talented, young players. Why is this feature not in Football Mogul? I don’t know.

I’m taking control of a team that is arguably more pathetic than the New York Jets, who last won the Super Bowl in 1969 and have only 2 AFC title game losses since. Who could that be? The Cleveland Browns? No, there are teams with worse modern records than the Browns. The Arizona Cardinals? They were just in the Super Bowl. The New Orleans Saints? Let’s see what the Drew Brees era nets first.